GUITAR ENSEMBLE
Music for guitar ensemble plays an important role in my catalog. While it remains an uncommon medium, I believe it has much to offer composers seeking new creative possibilities. Its rich textures, dynamic range, and intricate interplay open up unique avenues for expression beyond the traditional solo and chamber repertoire.
ENSAMBLE DE GUITARRAS DE CHILE (EGCH)
In 2006, with the support of the National Fund for the Development of Culture and the Arts in Chile, I founded the Ensamble de Guitarras de Chile (EGCH), one of the most significant projects of my musical career. This initiative marked the beginning of my journey with guitar ensembles. I had long envisioned an ensemble that would unite advanced students and professional guitarists, creating a platform for exploration and innovation within this medium.
Nearly 20 years later, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with over 70 of Chile’s most prominent guitarists, experimenting, arranging, composing, and premiering more than 25 works written specifically for us by composers from Chile, Argentina, France, Taiwan, the United States, Puerto Rico, and Greece.
AUDIO SAMPLES
SCORE SAMPLES
Here are sample scores of works that have been dedicated to our group.
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
LEO BROUWER
In 2007, we had the honor of participating in a concert paying tribute to Leo Brouwer during his first visit to Chile. For this occasion, we, along with other chamber groups, were invited to perform in his honor, and we were chosen to present his piece Acerca del Cielo, el Aire y la Sonrisa at the Centro Cultural de España.
As part of his visit, we also had the opportunity to perform Javier Farias’ Arauco: por fuerte principal y poderosa for him. Although we had only been working together as a group for a few months, Maestro Brouwer praised us as an ensemble ‘among the finest in Europe.’
ALEX ETHIER & PASCAL COTE / FORESTARE
Alex Ethier, founder of the Canadian guitar ensemble Forestare, along with former conductor Pascal Côté, traveled to Chile in 2009 to collaborate with us, performing a program dedicated exclusively to Canadian composers.
This collaboration later inspired Forestare to record Javier Farias’ Arauco: por fuerte, principal y poderosa upon their return to Canada. The recording, which was released under the Atma Classique label in 2012, can be found here.
SSU-YU HUANG
Ssu-Yu Huang, a native of Taiwan, enjoys an active career in contemporary music. Her compositions cover a wide range of music with bold and delicate genres.
Ssu-Yu Huang visited Chile in 2014 to collaborate with us on her pieces Enchanted Island and Rain Fall at the Harbor, both written for the EGCH and premiered at the Isidora Zegers Recital Hall. The ensemble had the unique opportunity to work closely with the composer, gaining insight into the inspiration behind these beautiful pieces, which reflect the landscapes of her native Taiwan.
Her visit to Chile was supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan ROC, and the Kaohsiung City Bureau of Cultural Affairs.
BEN VERDERY
In 2018, with the support of a grant from the U.S. Embassy in Chile, renowned guitarist and composer Ben Verdery visited Chile to collaborate with the EGCH. His piece GIVE was later included in our third album, Recinto de la Piedra.
Javier Farias has maintained a long relationship with this guitar legend. In 2014, Ben Verdery and Eliot Fisk premiered Farias’ piece Cortada fue la Tierra at Brendle Recital Hall in Winston-Salem, NC. During his tenure as head of the guitar program at Yale University, Verdery frequently programmed Farias’ music for his students, particularly his Etudes and the ensemble work Recinto de la Piedra.
More recently, Verdery included Farias’ Andean Suite on his album A Giant Beside You, released through New Focus Recordings.
It was truly inspiring to witness the energy and dedication of all ensemble members as they collaborated with such an esteemed musician.
DAVID TANENBAUM
For more than four years, Javier Farias and David Tanenbaum discussed the possibility of a collaboration that would bring David to Chile to conduct the ensemble. This idea was especially meaningful given that Farias had already premiered two of his works with the San Francisco Conservatory Guitar Ensemble under Tanenbaum’s direction (see details below).
By 2019, Javier Farias invited American composers Ronald Pearl, Andrew Simpson, and Garry Eister to write new works for the EGCH. They were highly enthusiastic about the opportunity, especially after hearing the ensemble’s latest album, Recinto de la Piedra, which showcases new compositions and an incredible level of artistry.
Although the concert was postponed due to COVID, it finally took place in 2022 in Santiago. We were deeply honored to have David Tanenbaum lead the ensemble in bringing these compositions to life in a program titled Only in the Darkness Can We See the Stars.
Learn more about this project in a feature published by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music here: SFCM Newsroom.
Music for the guitar ensemble plays an important role in my catalog. Perhaps, because I am first and foremost a guitarist, my motivation has always been to engage, expose, and challenge the guitarist to question the limits of the instrument and explore the possibilities of the classical guitar ensemble. Going beyond what I have written for guitar duos, trio, and quartets, I have composed more than three hours of original music for guitar ensemble.
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Ensamble de Guitarras de Chile
My most significant and treasured relationship with guitar ensembles is with the Ensamble de Guitarras de Chile (EGCH), an ensemble I founded in 2006 in my native Chile with a grant awarded from the Fondo Nacional para el Desarrollo Cultural y las Artes (FONDART) of the Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes. Now, over a decade later, I serve as EGCH’s Artistic Director with Eugenio González as Music Director and principal soloist and Patricio Araya as second soloist.
For many years it was my desire to form an ensemble that could bring together a mix of college students and a few highly regarded professionals to explore a more innovative music for a large group of guitars. Finally, with good fortune and support from FONDART, Ensamble de Guitarras de Chile to life. With EGCH, I have had the extraordinary opportunity to work with more than 60 of the most prominent young guitarists in Chile and to experiment, arrange, compose, and premiere more than 20 works that composers from Chile, Argentina, France, Taiwan, United States, Puerto Rico, and Greece have written specifically for the EGCH. Through the commitment and energy that each EGCH member has put into this ensemble, I have been able to advance my mission to expand the repertoire and endless possibilities this medium allows.
In fact, between 2007 and 2009, the Ensamble de Guitarras de Chile was able to bring to fruition two of my more significant works for guitar ensemble, both inspired by the epic historic poem “La Arauncana,” written in the mid-16th century by the Spanish nobleman and soldier Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga relates the courageous insurrection of the Mapuche:
- Arauco, por Fuerte, Principal y Poderosa… and
- ¡Arma! ¡Enfrena! ¡Aína!
NAZCAN was premiered and recorded by David Tanenbaum and the San Francisco Conservatory Guitar Ensemble.
«A bracing and evocative piece that offers much food for thought, both musically and lyrically.»
—Blair Jackson, Classical Guitar Magazine
Although I moved to the United States in 2012, the Ensamble de Guitarras de Chile continues performing, premiering new music, and has recorded three albums to date, each one offering a new perspective on guitar repertoire. The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has delayed the premiere of three new pieces that American composers Ronald Pearl, Andrew Simpson, and Garry Eister have written especially for EGCH with David Tanenbaum conducting the ensemble. Stay tuned as these premieres are rescheduled.
The success of the Ensamble de Guitarras de Chile has been due to the seemingly endless dedication of Eugenio Gonzalez, a founding member, and Patricio Araya, who joined EGCH in 2010. Not only are they two wonderful guitarists, they are great friends.
From early on, the EGCH has had the good fortune to collaborate with some of the masters. In 2007, we were honored to pay tribute to Leo Brouwer during his first visit to Chile with a performance of his piece, Acerca del Cielo, el Aire y la Sonrisa.
If you want to know more about the EGCH please visit:
In 2009, Alex Ethier, the founder of the Canadian guitar ensemble Forestare—probably one of the few professional guitar ensembles in the world today—and former conductor Pascal Cote, came to Chile to work with the EGCH. Forestare gave two performances of a program of works by Canadian composers only. This collaboration sparked the idea for Forestare to record Arauco: por fuerte, principal y ponderosa… upon their return to Canada. The 45-minute suite was recorded in 2010 and released on the Atma Classique label in 2012.
More recently, in 2018, we invited Ben Verdery to Chile to coach the Ensamble de Guitarras de Chile (his piece GIVE was included in our third CD, Recinto de la Piedra). It was inspiring to watch how engaged all the members were when working with this incredible musician and how much fun was being had.
SAN FRANCISCO CONSERVATORY GUITAR ENSEMBLE
Two major works by Javier Farias have been premiered and recorded by the San Francisco Conservatory Guitar Ensemble. The first collaboration took place in 2016 when the ensemble, conducted by David Tanenbaum, premiered Nazcan, a five-movement work inspired by the poem Clarivigilia Primaveral by Nobel Prize winner Miguel Ángel Asturias. The premiere was held at the 3rd Biasini International Competition and Festival in San Francisco on January 14, 2016. Classical Guitar Magazine described the piece as a “bracing and evocative work that offers much food for thought, both musically and lyrically.”
A second collaboration took place in 2019 when they premiered and recorded La Otra Voz. This 30-minute work consists of three movements and features an electric guitar as a soloist. The piece was first performed at the Conservatory in 2019. An album featuring both Nazcan and La Otra Voz is expected to be released in 2025.
